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That's a very misleading and stupid headline. Losing one's mother in her 80s, while sad and unfortunate, is certainly no "TRAGEDY" I empathize with coach Ryan, but a tragedy is what happened to Jennifer Sebena or the Sandy Hook victims, not the natural passing of a loved one.

Exactly Lloyd, those were my immediate thoughts. Death is a natural part of life. Unless there are some details JS hasn't made us aware of, the word "Tragedy" is being grossly misused here. If I am lucky enough (and blessed) to make it into my eighties or beyond before my ticket gets punched, I don't want people talking about what a tragedy is. I doubt that Coach Ryan is viewing her passing that way either.

The loss of a parent at any age is certainly a tragedy to many children. Why posters are nitpicking on this thread is beyond me but not to worry, based on your posts your passing will certainly be no tragedy to anyone.

kc, explain to us why THIS particular death is a tragedy. I thought our feelings were explained adequately, unlike yours. But thanks much for knowing enough about us personally (based on three posts) to formulate an opinion on the probable feelings of our loved ones at the time of OUR passing.

It's a tragedy for her son, Ryan. What I can't figure out is why you and the others feel the need to share your views on the death of someone's mother on a sports blog. The post was about him coaching after the loss not about your definition of tragedy but you felt the need to check in anyway.

We were questioning the use of the word "tragedy" in the headlines, and rightly so. The story WAS mostly about him coaching after the loss. That's why I kept looking in the story for the reason it was termed a "tragedy" in the headlines. To his credit, Ryan didn't seem horribly broken up, making light of the way his mother in her last days would question him about the team's record. Enough said.